PLANETS AROUND LOW-MASS STARS (PALMS). VI. DISCOVERY OF A REMARKABLY RED PLANETARY-MASS COMPANION TO THE AB DOR MOVING GROUP CANDIDATE 2MASS J22362452+4751425*

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report the discovery of an extremely red planetary-mass companion to 2MASS J22362452+4751425, a ≈0.6 M ⊙ late-K dwarf likely belonging to the ∼120 Myr AB Doradus moving group. 2M2236+4751 b was identified in multi-epoch NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging at Keck Observatory at a separation of , or 230 ± 20 AU in projection at the kinematic distance of 63 ± 5 pc to its host star. Assuming membership in the AB Dor group, as suggested from its kinematics, the inferred mass of 2M2236+4751 b is 11–14 M Jup. Follow-up Keck/OSIRIS K-band spectroscopy of the companion reveals strong CO absorption similar to other faint red L dwarfs and lacks signs of methane absorption, despite having an effective temperature of ≈900–1200 K. With a (J–K)MKO color of 2.69 ± 0.12 mag, the near-infrared slope of 2M2236+4751 b is redder than all of the HR 8799 planets and instead resembles the ≈23 Myr isolated planetary-mass object PSO J318.5–22, implying that similarly thick photospheric clouds can persist in the atmospheres of giant planets at ages beyond 100 Myr. In near-infrared color–magnitude diagrams, 2M2236+4751 b is located at the tip of the red L dwarf sequence and appears to define the “elbow” of the AB Dor substellar isochrone separating low-gravity L dwarfs from the cooler young T dwarf track. 2M2236+4751 b is the reddest substellar companion to a star and will be a valuable benchmark to study the shared atmospheric properties of young low-mass brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets.